This Sunday, "WWE NXT" presents its first premium live event since moving to The CW Network, the appropriately-timed Halloween Havoc! There are only five matches on the card, but three of them are for singles championships, and all of those involve a particularly wicked stipulation acquired via the process of spinning the wheel and making the deal. Throw in an Ambulance Match and an all-star women's tag match that involves the NXT Women's Champion and two of the world's most celebrated international stars, and you've got a recipe for some utterly delightful chaos. Fortunately, the Wrestling Inc. staff is back once again to comb through that chaos and predict the winners of all five PLE contests.
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Admittedly, we're in a bit of a slump compared to the standard we had been setting throughout 2024. The last major American PPV, AEW WrestleDream, saw our collective picks go 7-2-1, and while that's still not bad, it did drop our overall correct prediction percentage for the year to just under 83%. That's definitely the farthest we've fallen so far this year, and there are literally only two months left, so we're a little more invested than usual in getting these Halloween Havoc picks right.
It's not an easy job the staff didn't vote unanimously on any of the five matches and only two cleared the 80% agreement mark but somebody has to do it, and that somebody is us. If we go down, we're going down swinging, so let's get to the picks!
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Kelani Jordan is putting her Women's North American Championship on the line against one of the three members of Fatal Influence, Fallon Henley, Jacy Jayne, or Jazmyn Nyx. While neither the fans nor Jordan herself have idea who she's facing or even in what kind of match, after FatalInfluence member Jacy Jayne spun the wheel on Tuesday's episode of "NXT" we're still going with the current, and first, Women's North American Champion, with 80% of us here at WINC casting our votes for Jordan.
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While Jordan's title defense against one of the members of Fatal Influence had been alluded to for weeks on "NXT," things were made official on Tuesday, complete with Jaynespinning the wheel to determine the stipulation of the match at Halloween Havoc. With the wheel landing on "Spinner's Choice," Jordan has no idea what kind of match her opponents will pick, but she's a strongly-pushed babyface who does what strongly-pushed babyfaces do, and that includes overcoming any and all odds on her path to victory. The newly-signed Zaria (formerly DELTA) could also be a factor after the Australian star appeared on the stage to end "NXT" ahead of the premium live event, but most of us are still extremely confident that "nobody can do it like 'Lani" and she'll walk away still Women's North American Champion, with plenty more women to face on the "NXT" roster during her continued reign.
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Written byDaisyRuth
Ridge Holland has walked along a destructive path ever since he and Andre Chase lost the NXT Tag Team Championships at "WWE NXT" No Mercy. First, in the wake of their loss, he unleashed a brutal assault on Chase, Duke Hudson, and Riley Osborne, while Thea Hail desperately pleaded for him to stop. In the weeks following, Holland then defeated Hudson and Osborne in singles competition on "NXT" television. Now, at the request of Chase, he will compete in an Ambulance Match at "NXT" Halloween Havoc.
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Having already beaten two of his former Chase U stablemates, a slim majority of Wrestling Inc. staff 60% to be exact believe it is time for Holland to meet the end of his path of destruction. The end, of course, comes from the leader of Chase U, Andre Chase.
In an Ambulance Match, competitors fight under hardcore rules, meaning there are no countouts and no disqualifications. And the only way to win is by forcing one's opponent into the back of an ambulance and shutting the door behind them. With these parameters in place, and the natural anger amongst the existing Chase U members, the likelihood of Osborne, Hudson, or even Hail helping Chase to victory, and subsequently gaining revenge on Holland, is quite great. Even without the potential outside help, an enraged Chase has made it clear that he intends to put Holland out of his misery. And hell hath no fury like a man betrayed, right?
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If for nothing else, a Chase victory would simply be poetic justice, as Holland's attack on Chase at No Mercy resulted in him being carried out of the venue on a stretcher and into an ambulance.
Written by Ella Jay
This is the closest the WINC staff came to having a unanimous pick on this card, and it's easy to see why. Stephanie Vaquer and Giulia were a supergroup from the moment they decided to team up. With no stipulation and nothing on the line but pride, this is the kind of match that tag teams made up of popular babyface singles competitors have been winning for the entirety of WWE history even with a dominant champion in the opposite corner. On some gut level, it just doesn't make sense for Giulia and Vaquer to lose this match this soon after making their respective much-hyped entries into "NXT."
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So why is this not a 100% pick? Everyone has their reasons for voting the way they do, but it could be a little weird to have Cora Jade lose her first match since her latest return, especially since this will be Vaquer's third televised "NXT" match and Giulia's fourth; they're not necessarily brand new anymore. And then of course, there's another possibility that either Vaquer or Giulia will turn heel, costing both themselves and their partner the match and starting a singles feud between the two singles stars. That's not the kind of thing we'd really expect to happen in October (that seems it's like a Stand &Deliver match, if it happens) but we can't rule out the possibility.
That said, wemostlycan. If nothing else, "NXT" loves riffing on itself, and the Giulia/Vaquer combination has been strongly reminiscent of Hideo Itami (aka KENTA) bringing in Finn Balor to help him take down The Ascension in late 2014, almost exactly a decade ago. That match ended with the babyfaces on top, and we expect this one to do the same.
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Written by Miles Schneiderman
Tony D'Angelo just won the NXT North American Championship from Oba Femi back on "WWE NXT's" October 8 episode, and a vast majority of us here at WINC don't think he's losing that title anytime soon. In fact, a total of 87% of us believe that "The Don" is walking out of Hershey, Pennsylvania still the champion. It's not because Femi is anything to scoff at in the middle of the ring, but most of us think he's destined for greater things, like the NXT Championship and/or a main roster call-up. The Tables, Ladders, and Scares stipulation works in D'Angelo's favor, with the TLC rules benefitting the man with the Family, who can interfere as needed.
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However, as fans saw on "NXT" this week, Femi could possibly be working alongside a recently returned Nikkita Lyons to take out the rest of the Family. Femi gave Lyons back her jacket, which was seemingly at the scene of an attack on Adriana Rizzo. During his title bout against D'Angelo where he lost, Femi bumped in to Rizzo at ringside, causing her to fall, infuriating his challenger. It seems to us like the former champion is getting Lyons involved to do his dirty work to help him get that championship back.
While some of us are still holding out hope that the North American Championship ends up back around Femi's waist, we're not too convinced. Femi has already established himself as the longest-reigning men's North American Champion in "NXT" history; there's not much else for him to accomplish with that title. On the other hand, there are plenty more stories to be told with "The Don of 'NXT'" and his Family while D'Angelo is on top of the mid-card division.
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Written byDaisyRuth
In April 2024, Trick Williams ascended to the mountaintop of "WWE NXT" by claiming the NXT Championship. Less than three months later, Ethan Page did the same, albeit in controversial fashion, at "NXT" Heatwave. Fast forward another three months, Williams reclaimed the NXT Championship with a victory on the brand's CW Network debut. Now, he will be defending it against Page in a Devil's Playground match at "NXT" Halloween Havoc.
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Similar to Charlotte Flair and Sasha Banks with the WWE Raw Women's Championship in 2016, there is a possibility for Page and Williams to hot-potato the NXT Championship. As also proven by Flair and Banks, though, this move could cause some problems for WWE, with the first being fan criticism.
While many fans enjoy back-and-forth matches or even match series, such as Carmelo Hayes and Andrade, a back-and-forth title lineage often raises complaints. It also raises concerns for not only the credibility of the titleholders, but the title itself. In this case, Williams has already been the victim of a short championship reign when he lost the NXT North American Championship to Dominik Mysterio, just three days after winning it at "NXT" No Mercy 2023. Should he lose at Halloween Havoc, he would mirror that with a not-much-better 26-day reign, which could hurt both him and the NXT Championship the brand's most prestigious title. In order to preserve this prestige (and his own), 67% of Wrestling Inc. believe Williams will whoop the trick named Ethan Page and retain the NXT Championship.
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Written by Ella Jay
